The Process of Potty Training

The process of potty training a little one is a roller coaster. At this point in life, I do not have any children. However, I have enough friends and family with kids to know a few things about this season of life.

It is filled with celebrations, accidents, teaching and miniature, colorful potties. Anyone with experience in this area knows this stage consists of multiple phases. First, you have to overcome last minute runs to the bathroom and accidents. Then it is time to teach youngsters how to properly wash their hands. When you help them conquer one skill, you move on to the next step. As kids continue to grow older, parents are charged with the responsibility to teach them about sanitation and hygiene.

Teaching a child the basics of bathroom practices can be a precarious situation with ALL of the helpful resources at your disposal. Imagine trying to potty train your toddler without a potty. Think about what it would be like to teach them how to wash their hands without access to clean water.

These are just a few of the very real issues millions of parents and families face around the globe every day.

THE PROBLEM

An unfathomable number of people face life-threatening challenges in their day-to-day lives due to a lack of clean water and sanitation services.

According to United Nations, 663 million people are without safe drinking water sources. Roughly 2.4 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines. Each day, nearly 1,000 children die from preventable water and sanitation related diseases. That’s not OK! While this global crisis seems bleak, hope remains.

THE SOLUTION

Food for the Hungry (FH) walks with communities all over the world to establish programs that create accessible drinking and irrigation water. We also provide accessible health clinics that train and care for the needs of the community (you can learn more about our work here). But we do not do it alone! Each year, people like you give items from our gift catalog to impact the lives of families around the world. Items such as community wells, Tippy Taps, hygiene kits and community latrines make a huge difference in combating the water and sanitation crisis in developing countries.

THE IMPACT

Mrs. Phoeun and her husband have six children. Before FH starting working with their village, many people would frequently get sick, including her and her family. It would take most of their annual family income to obtain the medical treatments needed to restore the health of their kids and themselves.

FH established a Village Development Committee in her community. As a result, people began to receive training and resources to prevent many diseases that once caused so much hardship. Mrs. Phoeun shared, “I practice hygiene in my family, like sleep in a mosquito net, drink boiled water, defecate in a latrine and all my family members are healthy.”

We invite you to consider giving an item from our 2017 gift catalog to help bring hope to families like Mrs. Phoeun’s this Christmas season. Check out our catalog here!

Your gift of sponsorship can change a child’s life forever.

Sponsor a child today and join thousands of others as an advocate for the most vulnerable.